SSRC Library

The SSRC Library allows visitors to access materials related to self-sufficiency programs, practice and research. Visitors can view common search terms, conduct a keyword search or create a custom search using any combination of the filters at the left side of this page. To conduct a keyword search, type a term or combination of terms into the search box below, select whether you want to search the exact phrase or the words in any order, and click on the blue button to the right of the search box to view relevant results.

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White Americans are dying at higher rates from drugs, alcohol, and suicides. And the sharpest increases are happening in rural counties, often in regions with long-standing social and economic challenges. The reasons behind these increases are unclear and complex. The opioid epidemic plays a role but is just one part of a larger public health crisis. Life expectancy in the US as a whole has fallen for the second year in a row, and the nation’s health relative to other countries has been declining for decades. Some combination of factors in American life must explain why the rise in mortality is greatest among white, middle-aged adults and certain rural communities. Possibilities include the collapse of industries and the local economies they supported, greater social isolation, economic hardship, and distress among white workers over losing the security their parents’ generation once enjoyed. Also, over the past 30 years, income inequality and other social divides have widened, middle-class incomes have stagnated, and poverty rates have exceeded those of most rich countries. ...

White Americans are dying at higher rates from drugs, alcohol, and suicides. And the sharpest increases are happening in rural counties, often in regions with long-standing social and economic challenges. The reasons behind these increases are unclear and complex. The opioid epidemic plays a role but is just one part of a larger public health crisis. Life expectancy in the US as a whole has fallen for the second year in a row, and the nation’s health relative to other countries has been declining for decades. Some combination of factors in American life must explain why the rise in mortality is greatest among white, middle-aged adults and certain rural communities. Possibilities include the collapse of industries and the local economies they supported, greater social isolation, economic hardship, and distress among white workers over losing the security their parents’ generation once enjoyed. Also, over the past 30 years, income inequality and other social divides have widened, middle-class incomes have stagnated, and poverty rates have exceeded those of most rich countries. Recent legislation and regulations, however, may prolong or intensify the economic burden on the middle class and weaken access to health care and safety net programs. The consequences of these choices are dire—not only more deaths and illness, but also escalating health care costs, a sicker workforce, and a less competitive economy. (Author abstract)

Work requirements for key safety net programs are currently being discussed across the country. It is important that this debate be based on an understanding of what recipients need to meet those requirements and to successfully place themselves on a path toward self-sufficiency. Among those potentially subject to work requirements are low-income parents with limited education and low skills who need education and training to find and keep stable jobs. However, a lack of quality, affordable child care often stands in their way. To inform current policy deliberations, we have compiled research insights about meeting the child care needs of low-income parents seeking education and job training from the dozen studies produced under Urban Institute’s “Bridging the Gap: Exploring the Intersection between Child Care and Workforce Development for Low-Income Parents” project. This brief highlights key insights for policymakers and lays out further questions to be explored. (Author abstract)

Work requirements for key safety net programs are currently being discussed across the country. It is important that this debate be based on an understanding of what recipients need to meet those requirements and to successfully place themselves on a path toward self-sufficiency. Among those potentially subject to work requirements are low-income parents with limited education and low skills who need education and training to find and keep stable jobs. However, a lack of quality, affordable child care often stands in their way. To inform current policy deliberations, we have compiled research insights about meeting the child care needs of low-income parents seeking education and job training from the dozen studies produced under Urban Institute’s “Bridging the Gap: Exploring the Intersection between Child Care and Workforce Development for Low-Income Parents” project. This brief highlights key insights for policymakers and lays out further questions to be explored. (Author abstract)

This Research-to-Policy Resource List provides a comprehensive list of city universal preschool initiative evaluations and research in the Research Connections collection. To count as universal, a city's program must aim to eventually provide universal access to publicly-funded preschool for all four-year-olds using at least some city funds, even if it does not currently achieve universal access. Some well-known programs do not meet these criteria, either because they are the city-based implementation of a state universal preschool program (Tulsa, Oklahoma) or because they do not aim for universal access (Chicago's Child-Parent Centers; Salt Lake City, Utah). Cities with universal preschool programs were identified in recent reviews by the American Institutes for Research and the Rand Corporation, as well as in news reports. A number of city programs have not produced evaluations or research publications or are still in the planning or early implementation stages, including Cincinnati, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Seattle, Washington; and West...

This Research-to-Policy Resource List provides a comprehensive list of city universal preschool initiative evaluations and research in the Research Connections collection. To count as universal, a city's program must aim to eventually provide universal access to publicly-funded preschool for all four-year-olds using at least some city funds, even if it does not currently achieve universal access. Some well-known programs do not meet these criteria, either because they are the city-based implementation of a state universal preschool program (Tulsa, Oklahoma) or because they do not aim for universal access (Chicago's Child-Parent Centers; Salt Lake City, Utah). Cities with universal preschool programs were identified in recent reviews by the American Institutes for Research and the Rand Corporation, as well as in news reports. A number of city programs have not produced evaluations or research publications or are still in the planning or early implementation stages, including Cincinnati, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Seattle, Washington; and West Sacramento, California. The city universal preschool initiatives that have produced research or evaluation publications and are included here are: Boston, Massachusetts; Denver, Colorado; Los Angeles, California; New York, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; San Antonio, Texas; San Francisco, California; and Washington, District of Columbia. (Author abstract)

The year ending June 30, 2016 saw several significant shocks occur to child care services in Cook County. An unprecedented restriction of eligibility in the Illinois Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) imposed a period of great uncertainty on parents and child care providers alike. This challenge — and the state's continuing budget crisis — reversed Illinois' long-term trend of increasing investments in a robust system of early care and education. In just the second year of the state's efforts to improve child care quality through its ExceleRate Illinois quality rating and improvement system, child care providers faced falling enrollments, unpaid bills and staff layoffs. (Author introduction)

The year ending June 30, 2016 saw several significant shocks occur to child care services in Cook County. An unprecedented restriction of eligibility in the Illinois Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) imposed a period of great uncertainty on parents and child care providers alike. This challenge — and the state's continuing budget crisis — reversed Illinois' long-term trend of increasing investments in a robust system of early care and education. In just the second year of the state's efforts to improve child care quality through its ExceleRate Illinois quality rating and improvement system, child care providers faced falling enrollments, unpaid bills and staff layoffs. (Author introduction)

The increasing diversity of young children enrolled in state pre-K and Head Start programs has prompted examination of varying impacts for identified subgroups of young children. We argue that questions of subgroup impacts and the processes that may account for them should be prioritized in future evaluations of these programs. Three subgroups at high risk of poor school performance provide the focus for our discussion: low-income children exposed to significant adversity, dual language learners, and children with special needs. We further draw upon new hypotheses regarding the kinds of processes most likely to support both short- and longer-term public preschool impacts as they apply to these subgroups. We conclude with a set of research recommendations aimed at identifying features of these programs that may render them especially effective in the context of today’s increasingly diverse classrooms of young children. (Author abstract)

The increasing diversity of young children enrolled in state pre-K and Head Start programs has prompted examination of varying impacts for identified subgroups of young children. We argue that questions of subgroup impacts and the processes that may account for them should be prioritized in future evaluations of these programs. Three subgroups at high risk of poor school performance provide the focus for our discussion: low-income children exposed to significant adversity, dual language learners, and children with special needs. We further draw upon new hypotheses regarding the kinds of processes most likely to support both short- and longer-term public preschool impacts as they apply to these subgroups. We conclude with a set of research recommendations aimed at identifying features of these programs that may render them especially effective in the context of today’s increasingly diverse classrooms of young children. (Author abstract)